Fire God Paves the Way! (12,000 Words)

Harry was still a little hesitant. Was it a bit inappropriate to ask Pabbie this question?

After all, Pabbie is just a girl. Can she understand this complicated and tangled relationship?

Seeing Harry hesitate, Pabbie snuggled up to him.

She Niffler and nuzzled Harry's clothes, then bumped her head twice. "Oh, is there anything you're embarrassed to say? Just tell me!"

"Ahem." Harry looked up and glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then whispered to Pabbie, "Um, Pabbie, I have a friend..."

"Oh, you have a friend." Pabbie nodded rapidly.

"Well, my friend's situation is a bit complicated." Harry organized his thoughts, trying to make his words sound less flawed, "Several girls have given up everything for him, so now he's torn about which one to choose."

Pabbie looked up and gave Harry a suspicious look.

Several girls gave up everything for him...

"Is the friend you're talking about yourself?" Pabbie asked suspiciously.

"No, how could that be?" Harry quickly shook his head in denial.

Pabbie leaned back strategically, squinted at Harry, and looked him up and down before saying, "I'll assume that's the case... So, what do you think? Which one do you think he... oh, your friend, actually likes?"

"I don't know either."

After saying that, Harry realized something was off and quickly added, "Oh, my friend doesn't know either."

As he spoke, Harry rested his chin on his hands, lost in thought, pondering which one was better.

"Okay," Pabbie shook her head and said, "So, do you like Veratia more, or Cassandra more?"

"Actually, everything's fine, Veratia..."

Harry realized something was wrong halfway through his sentence.

When he looked up, he noticed a sly glint in Pabbie's eyes.

"Heh heh, you finally admitted it, didn't you?" Pabbie shook his head and said, "Looks like there's only one truth! The friend you were talking about is you, so just admit it!"

"Okay, okay," Harry said, raising his hands. "I admit it... So what do you think I should do?"

Pabbie lowered her head and nuzzled Harry's face. "What do you think?"

"The problem is, whichever I choose, it will hurt someone else... Think about it, if I choose Veratia, Cassandra will be heartbroken." Harry lay down next to Pabbie, his hands behind his head. "Cassandra gave up everything for me, even to come a hundred years into the future... She only has one year left to live, and she needs my Philosopher's Stone to keep her alive..."

"So you're going to choose her?" Pabbie asked, her eyes gleaming.

"Choose her?" Harry thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "The same goes for Veratia. I have no doubt what will happen to Veratia if I make this choice... Good heavens, it's a bit terrifying, I don't even want to think about it."

Pabbie nibbled at Harry's sleeve and said again, "Actually, you have another option..."

"What is it?" Harry asked with interest.

"The middle route," Pabbie said.

"The middle route?" Harry turned his head. "Choose someone else? Oh, you mean I won't choose either of them, and I'll choose someone else? Do you think I can withstand their wrath at that point?"

Pabbie thought about it and agreed with Harry.

But that's not what she meant.

"No, what I mean is..." Pabbie looked up. "Not multiple-choice questions."

What do you mean?

Harry looked at Pabbie, only to find that the inexplicable meaning in Pabbie's eyes was even more obvious.

"You wouldn't...?"

Harry thought of a possibility, a possibility he had considered but found shameful.

He raised a finger, slightly shocked. "Didn't you say...?"

Pabbie nodded firmly.

"You really are..." Harry covered his mouth and looked up at the sky.

Oh my god, I want them all...

He found it exciting just thinking about it—and it was indeed the most suitable choice.

They all gave up everything for him, and abandoning any one of them would cause them immeasurable harm.

So here's the question...

Both Veratia and Cassandra are extremely proud young girls.

Harry felt he still had a long way to go before he could get the two of them to put aside their differences and work together on the project.

"That's a really good idea, Pabbie." Harry reached out and pulled Pabbie close, giving her a big kiss on the forehead. "It's really great—"

"Right?" Pabbie wagged his tail happily. "I think it's great too, that way no one will get hurt..."

"No, I think I'll be the one who gets hurt in the end," Harry said firmly. "Just think about it, if they knew what I was thinking right now..."

Pabbie thought for a moment, then instinctively shivered.

Good heavens, the anger of two people...

"I think you should learn a few Charms defensive or healing Charms," Pabbie said to Harry earnestly. "At least that way, you won't get killed by them in one go."

Harry only thought about Pabbie's description for a second before he sat up abruptly.

Oh my god, that's terrible.

It seems like this path will take quite some time to develop.

"Come on, Harry," Pabbie said to him. "You shouldn't doubt yourself. Listen to me, you can totally do it."

"Really?" Harry was still a little guilty.

"My God, Harry," Pabbie sighed, "You need to understand one thing: the women who would give up everything to come a hundred years in the future to find you must love you to the core... So what you need to do now is face the truth! You're not that penniless Muggle-born wizard who just entered the school a hundred years ago. You're pure-blood wizard now, and you're the Savior of the wizarding world! You absolutely deserve both of them!"

"Mhm." Harry nodded repeatedly. He was blinded by his own involvement, but with the clear-headed observation of the outsider, he immediately found his true self.

Harry is a greedy young man, that's fine; wanting everything is just instinct.

Moreover, Pabbie has a point. If he chooses one of them and abandons the other, he'll be a jerk no matter what he does—it's better to let one of them bear the consequences himself than to let one of them get hurt.

Harry is in a bad situation. All he might get is a beating from two women, but what will he get in return?

He remembered the scene he saw in the Mirror of Erised when he was in first grade.

Perhaps at that time, he had already thought about this kind of thing—no, not just thought about it, but it was a desire in his heart.

Veratia, who longs to knit a sweater, and Cassandra, standing behind her mother.

"Thank you, Pabbie!" Harry patted Pabbie on the head and said, "I know what I need to do—"

"You know nothing!" Pabbie headbutted Harry. "I think what you need to do most right now is improve your strength, at least enough to defeat both of them together!"

"Okay," Harry said seriously. He also felt that he should practice his Charms properly—at least to be able to defeat Cassandra and Veratia together, just like Pabbie had said.

Otherwise, those two women would beat him to his knees and drag him back...

After Harry left, Pabbie lay on her side on the grass by the Black Lake, lying there stiffly like a salted fish.

There was no movement for quite a while.

When Harry turned his head to look over there, he happened to see Pabbie lying on the grass.

"Pabbie!" he shouted.

Hearing Harry's call, Pabbie lazily propped up his head.

"I thought you..."

Harry, realizing it was a bad omen, called out again, "Alright, you can lie down now—"

Pabbie lay back down on the grass, still muttering to himself.

well...

When will I be able to return to human form?

Even in her Unicorn form, she ultimately cannot have the right to freely pursue love.

Time flies, and it's already the end of September.

Defense Against the Dark Arts became a favorite course for the vast majority of students, even Slytherin.

Of course, there are also those who are not sociable, such as our beloved Professor Snape Severus Snape, who harbored deep resentment towards Lupin.

The story of Boggart turning into Snape and Neville dressing him in his grandmother's clothes spread like wildfire throughout the school.

Snape didn't seem to find it funny at all. The moment Professor Lupin's name was mentioned, a threatening glint flashed in his eyes—a look as if he wanted to grab Lupin and throw him into a cauldron to brew Potions.

Of course, besides Lupin, there were others who directly suffered fatal blows from Snape, such as Neville, the person primarily responsible for the cross-dressing incident. In Potions Class class, Snape seized on his weakness and deducted fifty or sixty points from his score—and it seems there's no sign of it stopping there.

"It seems that the Old Bat ultimately failed to reconcile with his cross-dressing Boggart."

Ron gave Neville this feedback in the dorm: he'd learned to be smarter and try not to talk about Snape in public. If he had to say something, he'd do it in the dorm—he didn't think Snape would come to the dorm and deduct points from him.

Neville wasn't unhappy about being targeted by Snape; on the contrary, he seemed to have become a prominent figure in Gryffindor.

It was quite an achievement to make Snape embarrass himself by dressing as a woman; even the student council president, Percy, unusually refrained from criticizing Neville.

As student council president, Percy wouldn't condone Neville's actions, but the fact that he didn't criticize him was the greatest compliment he could give.

There was a little incident during this time—sixth-grade Cassandra Malfoy refused to go to Divination Class anymore because Professor Trelawney Sybill Trelawney openly said in class that she had no talent for Divination and was better suited to do something else.

After Cassandra left the Divination Classroom, Professor Trelawney kept asking the students, "What did I say?"

On September 30th, when the third-year students went to their Defense Against the Dark Arts, they were surprised to find that Professor Lupin, who was always punctual, was not in the classroom.

Just as everyone was wondering, the classroom door was suddenly flung open, and Professor Snape, his robes billowing, strode into the classroom.

As he walked, he waved his wand, closing the windows tightly shut.

As he walked to the edge of the podium, Professor Snape made a swift and decisive turn, his movements utterly swift and decisive.

"Turn to page 394—" he drawled.

"Professor, where did Professor Lupin go?" Harry asked curiously.

Seeing that the person asking the question was Harry, and considering the Basilisk he had received last Christmas, Snape didn't deduct points from him. Instead, he slowly replied, "He said he's too sick to attend class today, so he asked me to cover for him—do you understand, Mr. Potter?"

"What illness does he have?" Harry asked again.

Professor Snape looked impatient, his black eyes gleaming.

"You're not in any danger, Mr. Potter."

He said this with a hopeful expression on his face.

"But he didn't leave me his teaching schedule, so I can only teach you according to my own ideas." Snape paused here, "I reiterate, turn to page 394!"

With that, he waved his wand and turned to page 394 of Ron's book, who was standing there in a daze.

Ron was startled; he clearly made a jumping motion on the stool.

He looked down at the book and exclaimed in surprise, "Werewolf?"

"But, sir, we've already learned about the Boggart, the Red Cap, the Kappa, and Grindylow," Hermione said quickly, puzzled. "We were just about to begin—"

"Quiet," Snape said coldly. "I wasn't asking you anything; I was just commenting on Professor Lupin's disorganized teaching... You're easily satisfied, Lupin has hardly set any high expectations for you—I think first-year students should be able to handle Red Cap and Grindylow by now, so today we're going to discuss—"

As he said this, Snape gave a toothache-like smile and cast a threatening glance at Neville.

Neville shuddered; he knew Snape had his eye on him.

"Let's discuss how to deal with Werewolf," Professor Snape said. "Isn't that what you should be learning most right now?"

The students in the entire classroom wore masks of pain, and even the Slytherin students would not like Professor Snape's class.

Although Professor Snape Professor Snape n't deduct points from Slytherin, his venom is always applied equally to all, as is the case now.

"Mr. Malfoy!" Snape suddenly roared, "If you had paid any attention, you would have heard me say to turn to page 394!"

Draco was startled and quickly flipped through his textbook to the page Professor Snape had mentioned.

"So... can any of you tell me the definition of Werewolf, and how to distinguish Werewolf from a real wolf?" Snape asked again.

They exchanged glances, none of them wanting to answer Snape's question—not even Hermione.

She had long known about Snape's unfair treatment, and even if Snape attacked her equally, Hermione would not want to be the only one to suffer Snape's venom; it would drive her crazy.

To everyone's surprise, Professor Snape became even more displeased when no one answered.

"Mr. Longbottom!" he suddenly called on him. "You tell us!"

Neville stood up shakily, stammering, "I... I'm sorry, Professor, I... I don't know!"

Professor Snape took a deep breath.

He nodded, roaring, "Fine, fine, fine... I never imagined I'd encounter a third-year student who couldn't identify Werewolf! I'm going to write this down and tell Professor Dumbledore how outdated your teaching is, how utterly incompetent Lupin is— Longbottom! Gryffindor will lose ten points because of you!"

It is now confirmed that Professor Snape and Professor Lupin definitely had a significant grudge against each other.

Perhaps it's because of the cross-dressing incident in the previous classes?

But no one intended to stand up for Neville, since Neville was primarily responsible for Professor Snape's cross-dressing incident, as he was the one who uttered the "Riddikulus" line.

But only Harry noticed something was wrong. If it were just this, Snape probably wouldn't have gone to such extremes... Perhaps there are some other hidden stories between them?

He raised his hand, intending to answer Professor Snape's question.

"Potter," Snape grinned, seemingly pleased to see Harry raise his hand to answer the question—no, just this one, "You answer it."

"Werewolf, sometimes called Lycanthrope, is a human who can transform into a wolf when the full moon rises. This condition is caused by a wolf infection. Although Werewolf can appear in wolf form, they are still different from ordinary wolves."

"Werewolf cannot choose whether to Transfiguration, and they will forget their identity after Transfiguration, and may even seize the opportunity to kill their best friend. Nevertheless, they can still recall everything they experienced during the entire Transfiguration process after transforming back into human form."

At this point, Harry continued to talk about the distinguishing features, "Compared to ordinary wolves, Werewolf in animal form have slightly shorter snouts and smaller pupils, making them look more like humans—in addition, the hair on Werewolf's tail is tufted, and they will attack humans unconsciously."

"In the time before the Transfiguration, they look like ordinary people, but they appear older and paler as the full moon approaches."

Upon hearing this, Professor Snape began to applaud Harry.

No one expected that Snape would applaud Harry —even though he clearly wanted to tear Harry's face apart.

"That's very well said, Potter."

Professor Snape spoke in a sarcastic tone, his lips almost curving into the logo of Muggle world, the Nike sports brand.

"I'm very pleased that you've made such great progress in your studies, but I also want to remind you to keep your eyes open—who knows, there might be Werewolf among you."

"Why do you say that, Professor?" Harry asked curiously.

Snape seemed quite patient with the matter, calmly explaining to Harry, "I just want you to be extremely careful in everything you do—if you want to make progress in Defense Against the Dark Arts, you need not only keen insight but also a skeptical attitude towards everything—"

"I understand!" Harry stood up again, drew his wand, and pointed it at Snape. "For example, I should suspect right now... that you're Werewolf!"

Snape's face immediately fell.

"Gryffindor will lose ten points for your insolence, Potter!"

He practically roared those words.

"You're the one who made me doubt everything, Professor." Harry looked at Snape with a troubled expression. "I really do have doubts, and you're going to be unhappy again..."

"Gryffindor loses another ten points!" Snape said coldly, "Because Mr. Potter talked back to the professor in class!"

Harry wisely shut his mouth. He was now losing control of his hands, wanting to cast some kind of Charms on Snape, like hanging him up to wash his mouth.

When get out of class ended, everyone was still enthusiastically discussing what had just happened in class.

"My God, this old... professor." Ron swallowed the word "bat" back. "Why is he targeting Professor Lupin? Is it because of the Boggart incident?"

"He's such a petty person," Hermione said with a heavy heart. "Good heavens, even if he's angry, he shouldn't attack Professor Lupin in that way. I mean—he said Professor Lupin is incompetent and even wants him to lose his job... I saw it myself, Professor Lupin's living conditions aren't very good, his clothes are patched, and even his robes are a bit rolled up."

"Who says otherwise?" Ron shrugged. "But if I were you, I'd go back to the Common Room and talk about it there—you forget, I have a special ability: whenever I say something bad about that old... professor, he appears behind me."

"Very self-aware, Weasley."

Snape's voice came from behind him.

Ron turned his head, trembling, and met Snape's dark eyes.

"Since this isn't a classroom, I won't give you any extra points," Snape said with a sneer. He then looked at Hermione: "Silly girl—if everything were as simple as it seems, perhaps you should have been in seventh year from the start, shouldn't you, Miss Know-it-all?"

Having said that, Professor Snape flapped his robes and hurried away in a dramatic manner.

"I think you're right, Ron," Hermione said, still shaken. "My God, not getting any points deducted is really... beyond my expectations."

"That surprised me too," Ron said, nodding vigorously.

October 2nd was a sunny weekend, and Veratia seemed to want to enjoy her vacation, returning to school from the Muggle world.

She found Harry, called him out, and planned to sit by the Black Lake while the weather was fine and pleasant.

Halfway there, they saw Cassandra walking in from outside the Great Hall.

"Hey, Cassandra," Harry greeted her, "Would you like to come sit with us by the Black Lake?"

"No, I'd better not disturb your time together," Cassandra snorted.

Just as they were about to leave, Harry said to him, "Let's go. I remember the last time we replenished our life energy was at the beginning of last month. It's about time we replenished it, isn't it?"

Cassandra had initially been somewhat resistant, nodded and said, "Alright, since you insist—with this magic-depleted, philandering cat?" after hearing the excuse Harry had made for her.

"To save time," Harry said succinctly.

"You really are... greedy." Cassandra scoffed, raising her chin as she said, "Let's go, you two lead the way!"

Veratia was about to say something when she heard Harry whisper, "Veratia..."

"Okay." Veratia nodded, accepting Harry's request.

She understood that Harry didn't want her and Cassandra to argue, lest they drive each other away.

Of course, Veratia had no objections either, after all, Cassandra and Harry were childhood sweethearts, and Harry was practically raised by Cassandra herself.

I can't force Harry not to extend Cassandra's life, can I? What if Harry holds a grudge against me for it?

The three of them walked to the Black Lake, one after the other. Harry sat down on the grass first, followed by Veratia, who hugged Harry's arm and nestled contentedly against his right side.

"Cassandra." Harry reached out and patted his left side. "What are you standing there for?"

"Oh..."

Cassandra gave Harry a disdainful look, but still obediently sat down.

I thought the cat who stole fish would make a sarcastic remark to her, but to my surprise, she didn't say a word.

"I never imagined that Grindelwald would allow me to touch her boyfriend," she said, still not letting up.

"Yeah, we can't just watch people die, can we?" Veratia said with a smile, tacitly acknowledging Cassandra's "little boyfriend."

"Ahem, don't get me wrong, Cassandra," Harry tried to explain weakly, attempting to balance things out, "Veratia and I aren't in a romantic relationship..."

After saying that, Harry felt a chill.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Cassandra's tone suddenly became lighter, because she noticed Veratia's unhappiness.

She reached out and grabbed Harry's arm.

An eerie silence fell between the three of them. No one spoke; they all stared at each other, wide-eyed.

"Lie down for a while."

Harry leaned back on the grass, the scent of earth filling his nostrils.

Caught off guard by his sudden attack, Cassandra fell to the ground on the grass.

"Look," Harry suddenly said, pointing to a white cloud in the sky, "Doesn't that cloud look like... Hogwarts Castle?"

He admitted that he was just making conversation, because that cloud was not at all like a castle, it was a complete mess.

"Mmm," Veratia replied nasally, clearly not paying attention to the clouds.

Cassandra didn't respond; her mind was a bit blank.

However, all of this was observed by a large Black Dog not far away.

Large tears streamed from his eyes. He pounded his head on the ground, whimpering and thumping the soil around him.

Prongs! Prongs! Lily!

I'm so sorry!

Harry!

Harry didn't just have one Slytherin woman! He had two of them!!!

I'm so sorry, you Prongs!

I shouldn't shirk my responsibilities in Azkaban! I should be there for Harry as he grows up!

That way, he won't be fooled by these bad women!

With that in mind, Sirius decided to do something.

He suddenly leaped out and roared madly at the three figures behind him.

"Woof woof woof woof!"

Even if you don't understand dog language, anyone who hears this sound will know that he's swearing filthyly.

Veratia and Cassandra were suddenly awakened. When they turned around, they saw a large Black Dog, as strong as a small bear, barking at them.

"What's wrong with this dog?" Veratia was completely confused. Last time, this Black Dog ruined her good time.

However, when she pulled her wand from her bosom, the dog barked and ran away, giving her no chance to cast Charms.

"Don't let me see you again, "Veratia thought viciously to herself.

With the Black Dog causing such a commotion, they lost all interest in staying by the Black Lake.

Cassandra released Harry's hand, spread her hands, and said, "Let's go back. I still have some homework to do."

"Is this homework for Divination Class?" Veratia asked deliberately. "Oh, I've heard that Professor Trelawney said some people's souls are barren and they have absolutely no talent for Divination..."

Upon hearing this, a small vein bulged on Cassandra's forehead.

This was truly one of her sore spots, because a hundred years ago, she had been Oracle this prediction by the prophet Cassandra Trelawney, and she had even cried herself to tears over it.

This should be considered her dark history.

"Oh, it's better than some people having a talent for Divination but not seeing their friend's accident happen," Cassandra retorted. "Sometimes I really wonder if she did it on purpose, otherwise why would she have hidden this part?"

The two women stared at each other, neither giving an inch, and sparks flew again.

"I think we should go back too!" Harry quickly interjected, "Let's have dinner together tonight, in the Great Hall..."

"With Grindelwald?" Cassandra said with a half-smile, "Let's not talk about that today—I have other things to do, let's do it another day."

Having said that, Cassandra gracefully left the Black Lake.

After Cassandra left, Veratia looked at her retreating figure suspiciously, then at Harry.

Something's wrong, something's very wrong!

"I have a feeling you're up to no good?" Veratia asked Harry, squinting at him.

"How is that possible!" Harry looked at the castle, refusing to meet Veratia's gaze.

He was still thinking to himself, it's time to practice Occlumency!

He had actually wanted to learn it a hundred years ago, but Cassandra and Veratia always made excuses not to teach him, and Ominis and Sebastian didn't know the Charms, which is why Harry never learned it.

Thinking of Ominis, Harry recalled the plan he had discussed with Dumbledore earlier...

I don't know if he got Bellatrix Lestrange's hair or not.

October 9th is the day of the Quidditch Match.

It rained that day, but not heavily, so the competition proceeded as scheduled.

But for some reason, the weather was rather cold.

"Have some hot soup, Harry," Hermione said, holding a bowl of cream of mushroom soup. "Eating something high in calories will help you stay warm."

"Yeah, man," Ron chimed in, "Listen to Hermione, have a drink—you can't go without eating anything, can you?"

Harry grabbed a few slices of baguette from the side, dipped them briefly in the cream of mushroom soup, and then devoured them.

"Eat more, eat more," Hermione said with relief.

Harry had been feeling a bit listless, but after eating these things, he felt much more energetic.

Just then, the Gryffindor Quidditch players entered the Great Hall.

"This match is going to be intense. I overheard Hufflepuff's pre-match declaration," Wood said. "Good heavens, I can't eat anything right now..."

"Don't worry, Oliver," Alicia Spinnet reassured him. "A little rain won't hurt us, and besides, we still have Harry as our winning weapon."

"You're right." Captain Wood seemed encouraged, smiling and nodding at Alicia. "I think I should do what Harry did and eat something warm, since it's a bit chilly outside—we don't care about a little rain!"

But when they walked out of the Great Hall, they realized that it was not just a little rain.

Quidditch is an extremely popular sport in the wizarding world, so the entire school, as usual, turned out to watch the game. They ran across the lawn toward the Quidditch pitch, heads down to ward off the strong wind, because their umbrellas had been blown away from their hands halfway there.

The team members all changed into scarlet robes and stood at the entrance gate, waiting for Captain Wood's instructions.

As is customary, he would give a speech before the start of the match.

"Guys!" Wood shouted.

"And the girls," Angelina added.

"Yes, and the girls too," Wood said. "It's just a little rain, but that won't stop us—and of course, this is my last year playing Quidditch, so hopefully we can end it on a high note."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Wood was blasted into his mouth by a strong gust of wind, choking on a mouthful of cold air.

He vomited and let out a long burp.

"Good heavens, it's just a little rain," the Weasley twins said gleefully. "A little, rain."

"Shut up, you clones!" Angelina snapped. "Get your act together! If I find out you're slacking off in the rain, you're in big trouble!"

The Twins made a face at Angelina together.

A faint voice came from afar, but it was still discernible that it was Madam Hooch urging them to enter.

"Let's go," Wood said to them. "Let's do our best to win this game."

"Kick Hufflepuff's ass hard!" Fred cheered from the side.

They followed Wood to the center of the Quidditch field.

It has to be said that the Quidditch pitch really needs a good overhaul; when Harry walked on it, he even felt his toes sinking into the mud.

"Ew!" Alicia complained, "This is practically a swamp."

"Are you expecting a sunny day?" Wood said from the side.

The rain was heavy, mingling with the thunder, creating a symphony on the Quidditch pitch.

With such noise, even if the surrounding audience shouted something, they couldn't hear it at all.

Raindrops hit Harry's glasses, blurring his vision.

He reached out and tapped his glasses.

"Impervius."

Harry cast Charms, and his glasses dried instantly, as if they had been put into a dryer. Even rain couldn't wet them at all.

The Hufflepuff team walked towards them from the opposite side of the field, wearing canary yellow robes.

The two captains stepped forward and shook hands. Cedric smiled at Wood, and Wood returned a closed-mouth smile to avoid getting another mouthful of wind.

Once everyone was in place, Madam Hooch put her whistle to her lips and blew hard, producing a sharp whistle that sounded like it was coming from afar—the competition had begun!

Harry rode very fast, but his Nimbus 2000 was wobbling a bit in the wind. He gripped it tightly and turned to rush into the wind and rain.

Within minutes, Harry felt completely soaked. He was annoyed, having only remembered to Charms on his glasses and forgotten about his clothes.

Fortunately, he listened to Hermione's advice and ate more, which prevented him from feeling too cold.

He quietly touched his clothes and chanted the waterproof Charms again, which made him feel a little better—otherwise, being soaking wet would be too uncomfortable.

However, due to the torrential rain, even though his glasses were Impervius, it was difficult for him to see the players clearly, let alone the little Golden Snitch.

Fortunately, the Gryffindor players were all bright red, which allowed him to barely distinguish who his teammates were and who his opponents were.

Harry darted across the field, leaping and soaring past blurry red and yellow figures, oblivious to the cheers around him in the howling wind.

The audience was hidden beneath a sea of cloaks and umbrellas billowing in the wind, but their enthusiasm was still hard to conceal.

Whenever Harry and his teammates passed by the field, they could always hear a burst of enthusiastic cheers from the stands.

For the first time in this competition, Cassandra and Veratia also came to their seats. They used magic to create a dry, sheltered spot from the wind and rain. One of them was able to bring her good grand-nephew, and the other brought Miss Farley along.

"Guess who will win?" Miss Farley said loudly to Veratia.

"I think it's Harry!" Veratia said confidently.

However, not long after, Madam Hooch's whistle rang out.

Harry thought the race was over, but it didn't seem so. He landed and heard Wood say, "I called a timeout, lads—and lads..."

At this point, he saw Harry's dry clothes.

"I'll cast a few Charms on you," Harry said to Wood before he could ask, reaching out to pat them on the shoulder and casting waterproof Charms on each of them.

"A very good Charms, especially since it's Wandless Magic," Wood exclaimed. "My goodness, you've given me so many surprises."

"What's the score now?" Harry asked.

"We're leading by fifty points, but you need to catch the Golden Snitch as soon as possible." Wood patted Harry on the shoulder and said confidently, "Don't worry, Harry, we won't hold you back. You just need to focus on the Golden Snitch, understand?"

"Okay." Harry nodded.

The game quickly resumed.

Harry kicked the broom and soared into the sky.

Braving the biting wind, Harry carefully searched his Bludger, but just then, another clap of thunder sounded, followed by a forked bolt of lightning that almost struck Harry.

If Harry hadn't dodged quickly, he would have been struck by that bolt of lightning.

As Harry dodged the next bolt of lightning, he shifted to the side and witnessed something unusual.

Pabbie, dressed entirely in white, stood on an empty seat at the top of the stands, gesturing and cheering Harry on.

Next to Pabbie was a very sturdy Black Dog, and Harry always felt that this Black Dog... was a little unusual.

However, he didn't pay any attention to it, and instead stretched out his hand and waved at Pabbie.

Pabbie she dressed up, jumping and skipping around excitedly, when suddenly she cried out "Ouch!" and fell off the stands.

Seeing this, Harry almost laughed so hard he fell off the broom.

"Harry!"

Wood's voice came from the side of the goal. Harry turned around and saw Wood anxiously pointing to his side.

"Don't look over there! Diggory just walked past you, I think he must have seen something!"

Harry quickly urged the broom on, carefully searching for Cedric's figure.

Cedric was diagonally above him, seemingly chasing something.

Harry knew he was a Seeker —and what he was chasing must be the Golden Snitch!

Thinking this, Harry quickly chased after him.

However, they hadn't caught up with it for long when a light suddenly appeared in the sky, and a bolt of lightning struck straight down.

Harry saw Cedric was reaching out as if to grab something, be struck by the lightning and fall like a kite with a broken string.

"Cedric!" Harry shouted, throwing a Slowing Charm Charms at him.

With Harry's Charms, Cedric's descent slowed, and he floated down like a feather.

But at that moment, Harry suddenly realized that everything around him had become completely silent.

The sounds of wind, rain, and cheers from the stands all abruptly ceased.

However, Harry could clearly feel the wind cutting his cheeks and the rain pattering against his face and body.

This situation is as strange as if he had lost his hearing.

What happened?

Harry's heart skipped a beat; he had a very Grim feeling rising within him.

Another terrible cold wave swept in, and even Harry, who was protected by the Charms, felt extremely cold and bone-chilling.

What's wrong? He wondered to himself.

However, he didn't have much time to think when the Golden Snitch suddenly appeared in front of him.

Harry reached out, and the Golden Snitch fluttered away, continuing its upward flight.

He continued flying alongside the Golden Snitch, and as they flew past a cloud, the Golden Snitch was right in front of them.

Closer, even closer.

Harry flew past a rain cloud and saw the Golden Snitch beside him, and a cloud in the sky that looked like a big dog.

His heart skipped a beat.

Could it be... Grim?

With that thought in mind, Harry quickly grabbed the Golden Snitch.

He picked up the broom and tried to leave, but something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, a Dementor appeared beside him.

Harry quickly turned his broom around, changing direction, trying to shake off the Dementor.

These are the guards of Azkaban, Harry doesn't want to cause trouble for the time being—perhaps he's just in the wrong place.

However, when he turned the broom again, he found two more Dementor in front of him.

Harry understood in an instant that the Dementor were definitely after him.

He looked down and saw at least a hundred Dementor standing below, their faces hidden under their hoods, all facing him. From their somewhat blurry figures, it was clear they were very excited about the hunt for Harry.

Just then, the students below also realized that something was wrong.

A thunderclap rang out, illuminating not only the entire Quidditch pitch but also the clouds.

As you can clearly see, there are many Dementor swirling and flying in the clouds, probably more than a hundred of them.

"It's Dementor!"

Ron let out a heart-wrenching scream. He didn't care about anything else and pushed through the crowd towards Dumbledore, shouting that the Dementor were in the sky as he ran.

Dumbledore certainly saw the Dementor in the sky—and not just Dumbledore, everyone saw it with their own eyes.

"Albus!" Professor McGonagall looked at Dumbledore nervously, her lips moving as she worried about Harry.

Snape had his hands tucked into his pockets, as if he were about to throw some kind of Charms into the sky at any moment.

From the Slytherin stands, Cassandra stared intently in the direction Harry had disappeared, one hand already reaching for her wand.

"Miss Grindelwald!"

Miss Farley looked at Veratia in disbelief.

Veratia did not respond to Miss Farley; like Cassandra, she was ready to use Charms to save Harry at any moment.

However, just when everyone was worried about Harry, the dark sky suddenly brightened.

Centered on Harry's direction, suddenly, a bright blue light spread rapidly in all directions, even dispelling the dense, oppressive clouds around them.

Soon, the students realized that it was not light—but a flame!

The dark clouds vanished without a trace in an instant, replaced by a Azure flame.

The blue flames leaped angrily, revealing the heart of their master.

The Dementor retreated rapidly to the side, but they could not escape the pursuit of the flames and were completely burned to ashes by the raging flames in the sky.

Within a few breaths, the flames rapidly spread across the entire sky, replacing the dark clouds that had previously covered the earth!

In just a short moment, a wide road opened up in the Azure flame!

At the same time, a spell was chanted from afar, reaching the ears of everyone in the Quidditch arena!

"Partiporus (Fire God Paves the Way)!"

(Please vote for me! Today is the last day of double rewards, so don't save your votes, there won't be any more double rewards at the end of the month...)

(The last 4000 words are an extra chapter for last month's 27,000 monthly votes)